Indignation in Punjab over dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s parole, online satsangs

JALANDHAR: With bitterness brewing in parts of Punjab over the grant of parole to rape and murder convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim, the head of Sirsa-headquartered Dera Sacha Sauda, political parties and their leaders are maintaining a stoic silence in the state, barring few exceptions.
The dera chief has significantly increased his online activity during his latest parole, his third this year.There have been a few incidents of the dera sending its followers to invite people for gatherings in different villages being confronted by Sikhs. These indicate that things could take a turn for the worse in the state.

So far, only Punjab assembly speaker Kultar Singh Sandhawan, Congress deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Congress MP Ravneet Bittu, Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) leader and former finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, and SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia have spoken out against the dera head’s parole and his increased activity. Punjab Youth Congress president Brinder Singh Dhillon has questioned the silence of political leadership across parties through a Twitter thread.
Punjab BJP leaders silent on dera chief
The contrast within Congress gets even bigger as Randhawa has been acerbic in his comments against the dera chief but Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and LoP Partap Singh Bajwa have been silent. Sources in Congress said there was a difference of opinion in the party on whether to speak out or stay silent.
Even as Shiromani Akali Dal is trying to recover its lost panthic base and party president Sukhbir Singh Badal has often spoken on panthic issues, the party is silent on the dera issue. This has been the case even as bitterness, both online and offline, is palpable between Sikhs and dera followers.
Among SAD leaders, Majithia became the only exception to this silence on Sunday when he called dera head “a thug” while responding to a query.
Punjabi web channels have been regularly sharing content from the dera chief’s sermons for the last couple of days and the comments under these video clips reflect brewing bitterness. Punjab BJP leaders, including Sikhs faces who were earlier vocal against the dera chief, have also been silent, as BJP leaders of Haryana have been marking their presence in the dera’s online satsangs and at least one prominent leaderfrom Himachal Pradesh has also eulogised the dera chief.
Sandhwan has spoken out against the dera chief but in a guarded language. On the other hand, Sandhwan’s AAP colleague and Punjab minister Fauja Singh Sarari has already courted controversy by visiting a branch of the dera. “Politicians talking of women’s empowerment and rights should be ashamed of not taking a stand against this rape convict. In Punjab, the silence of leadership across parties is baffling. If we do not unite against this so-called baba, we expose our moral values, which certainly are on the decline,” tweeted Dhillon.